A rotationally rechargeable electrical apparatus includes an electronic device with a back, a center of mass and a battery. An electrical generator at the back of the device has a rotor secured to the device and a stator having a flat contact surface extending parallel to the back of the device. The rotor and stator are rotatably connected together so that they can rotate relatively about an axis that extends perpendicular to the contact surface and passes through the center of mass. A voltage regulating circuit is connected electrically between the generator and the battery so that when the apparatus is placed on a support so that the contact surface frictionally engages the support and the device is spun about the axis, the generator produces an electrical output that is conditioned by the regulator circuit to charge the battery.
|
1. A rotationally rechargeable electrical apparatus comprising
an electronic device having a front, a back and a center of mass and containing a battery;
an electrical generator, said generator including a rotor secured to the back of the device and a stator having a flat contact surface extending generally parallel to the back of the device, said rotor and stator being rotatably connected together so that they can rotate relatively about an axis that extends perpendicular to said contact surface and passes through said center of mass, and
a voltage regulating circuit connected electrically between the generator and the battery so that when the apparatus is placed on a support so that said contact surface frictionally engages said support and the device is spun about said axis, the generator produces an electrical output that is conditioned by said regulating circuit to charge said battery.
11. A rotationally rechargeable electronic apparatus comprising
a flexible case for encasing an electrical device, said case including a back wall with a pocket therein;
a pancake-type generator, said generator including a stator and a rotor rotatably coupled together for rotation about an axis to provide an electrical output, said stator including a flat contact surface extending perpendicular to axis;
a support plate secured to the rotor and extending perpendicular to said axis, said plate being received in said pocket so that the generator protrudes from the back wall of the case and said axis extends through the center of mass of the case and any contents thereof, and
a voltage regulating circuit adjacent to the back wall of the case and connected to receive said electrical output so that when the apparatus is placed on a support so that the contact surface frictionally engages the support and the case is spun about said axis, the generator produces a regulated electrical output suitable for charging a battery.
2. The apparatus defined in
3. The apparatus defined in
4. The apparatus defined in
5. The apparatus defined in
6. The apparatus defined in
7. The apparatus defined in
8. The apparatus defined in
9. The apparatus defined in
10. The apparatus defined in
12. The apparatus defined in
an electrical device received in said case, said device including a battery and having a center of mass positioned on said axis, and
electric connections in said case, said connections extending between the voltage regulating circuit and the battery so that the battery is charged during the spinning of the case and its contents.
13. The apparatus defined in
a charging port in the device, said port being connected to said battery, and
a charging dock in a wall of the case and which is connected to the regulating circuit, said dock including a connector portion positioned to plug into said port when the device is received in the case.
14. The apparatus defined in
15. The apparatus defined in
16. The apparatus defined in
17. The apparatus defined in
18. The apparatus defined in
19. The apparatus defined in
|
This invention relates to a handheld battery-powered electric or electronic device. It relates especially to such a device whose batteries may be recharged without requiring an external power source.
Small handheld or portable battery-powered devices are becoming ever more prevalent. These devices include cell phones, cameras, electronic games, radios, TVs, flashlights, GPS, receivers, recording and playback devices, etc. In many cases, such devices are powered by one or more batteries of the rechargeable type.
The main disadvantage of such battery powered devices is that external power to recharge the batteries is not always available. For example, one of the biggest markets for cell phones is in so-called third world countries, many of which do not have a good network of telephone landlines. However, those countries are just as likely to not have a reliable electrical network for distributing power to people's homes and businesses. Therefore, in order to recharge the batteries of their cell phones, users are often required to so do at a central location that does have electrical power, which is an inconvenience to the users. Even in developed countries, there are situations in which a device user may find him or herself without power, e.g. while camping, sailing, skiing, etc., or without the ability to plug in a charger, e.g. while on a plane or attending a long meeting.
Accordingly, it would be desireable to be able to have a handheld electronic device whose battery may be recharged without the benefit of electrical power from an external source.
Accordingly, the present invention aims to provide an improved handheld or portable battery-powered apparatus of the types identified above.
Another object of the invention is to provide such apparatus whose battery can be recharged in the absence of an external power source.
A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of this nature whose battery can be recharged very easily, even by technically unsophisticated users.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a handheld battery-powered apparatus which houses, in a single compact package, all of the components necessary to operate the apparatus and recharge its battery.
Another object of the invention is to provide a case for a handheld battery-powered device which is capable of recharging the device's battery or batteries.
Other objects will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.
Briefly, the present apparatus includes a battery-powered electrical or electronic device and an attached electric generator. The generator includes a rotor secured to a wall of the device and a stator projecting from the device, the stator having a flat exposed contact surface. The rotor and stator can be rotated relatively about an axis which is perpendicular to the contact surface and passes through the center of mass of the device. A voltage regulator circuit is connected between the generator and the device's battery so that when the apparatus is placed on a support surface with the contact surface frictionally engaging the support and the apparatus is spun about said axis, the generator produces an electrical output which is conditioned by the regulator circuit to recharge the battery.
While the generator and regulator circuit may be included in the electronic device itself, preferably they are present in a case that protectively encloses the device. In any event, as will be described in detail later, the generator is of a flat pancake-type construction that projects or protrudes a minimal distance from the device so that it does not add appreciably to the overall footprint or profile of the device by itself. Also, as will be seen, the regulator circuit adapts or conditions the output signal from the generator to suit the power requirements of the particular device so that by spinning the device, the device's batteries may be recharged in a minimum amount of time.
Thus, the batteries of the present apparatus can be recharged, even when outside power is not available, enabling a user to operate the device whenever that becomes necessary or desirable.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
In accordance with the invention, a flat pancake-shaped generator shown generally at 16 is secured by case 14 to the back of device 12. Generator 16 includes a rotor 16b which is fixed to case 14 and a stator 16a which projects somewhat from the back of the case and has an exposed flat undersurface with a high coefficient of friction. Thus, when the apparatus 10 is placed on a support S, e.g. a table, such that the stator 16a frictionally engages that support, and a person spins the case and its contents with his/her finger F about axis A as indicated by the arrows in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Mounted to the bottom wall 32a within member 32 are concentric circular arrays of radially oriented ferrite pole pieces 34, each of which is surrounded by a winding 36. In the illustrated embodiment, there are three concentric arrays which are radially spaced to provide three concentric gaps 38 between adjacent arrays and between the outermost array and the member wall 32b. In the apparatus embodiment shown in
Also, for reasons to be described later, a multiplicity of small permanent magnets 42 are mounted to the inner surface of the member wall 32b at uniformly spaced-apart locations therearound. The rotor 16b in
Refer now to
Extending up from bottom wall 46a of stator member 46 are concentric arrays of ring magnets 48, three such arrays being shown in
When the stator 16a is positioned within rotor 16b as shown in
It will be apparent from the foregoing that when the apparatus 10 is placed on a support surface S as shown in
Preferably, the axis A is perpendicular to the plate 22 and to the stator member wall 46a shown in
Referring to
A more elaborate regulating circuit 64 may provide a DC output having the same polarity no matter the spinning direction and provide signals to control the device 12 display to apprise the user that the device is spinning at a sufficient recharging rate and to display other relevant parameters.
In any event, the output of the regulating circuit 64 appears on terminals 68 which plug into port 70a of a charging dock 70 at an end of case 14. The charging dock 70 also has a connector 70b arranged and adapted to plug into the standard battery charging port 12b of device 12 when the device is in case 14. Since the voltage regulation circuit 64 is located in case 14 and is not part of generator 16 per se, it can be matched to the particular device 12 in case 14 so that the device's batteries receive the proper charge. If, in a given application, the output voltage from a generator 16 should have to be reduced for some reason, this may be done simply by bypassing one or more of the windings 36 at the circuit board 62 with the remaining windings remaining in series.
When the user's finger F angularly accelerates case 14 and its contents up to speed as described above, the rotational inertia of the device will keep it spinning for an appreciable length of time before another spinning impulse from the user is required. To prolong the duration of each spin, the aforesaid permanent magnets 42 and 52 are provided on the generator's rotor 16b and stator 16a, respectively. These permanent magnets are radially polarized so that their magnetic flux lines are more or less perpendicular to the fluxes at the boundaries 48a of the outermost ring magnet 48 of the stator 16a. Thus, they function to minimize so-called “cogging” of the generator's rotor 16b when the generator is under a load, i.e. while charging battery 12a.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the present apparatus can be used in many situations in which external power is unavailable to recharge the device's battery 12a. Indeed, even if that battery is defective, the device 12 can be powered directly by generator 16 as long as the device is spinning. For example, if the device 12 is a flashlight, it can still provide light in an emergency.
It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained. Also, certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the roles of the rotor and stator may be reversed so that the ring magnets 48 move with case 14, while the pole pieces/windings remain stationary. Therefore, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
Budziszek, Bobby Lee, McMaster, Collin James
Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
10045567, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporization device systems and methods |
10045568, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporization device systems and methods |
10058124, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporization device systems and methods |
10058129, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporization device systems and methods |
10058130, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Cartridge for use with a vaporizer device |
10070669, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Cartridge for use with a vaporizer device |
10076139, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporizer apparatus |
10104915, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Securely attaching cartridges for vaporizer devices |
10111470, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporizer apparatus |
10117465, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporization device systems and methods |
10117466, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporization device systems and methods |
10159282, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Cartridge for use with a vaporizer device |
10201190, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Cartridge for use with a vaporizer device |
10244793, | Jul 19 2005 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Devices for vaporization of a substance |
10264823, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporization device systems and methods |
10279934, | Feb 11 2016 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Fillable vaporizer cartridge and method of filling |
10405582, | Mar 10 2016 | PAX LABS, INC | Vaporization device with lip sensing |
10512282, | Dec 05 2014 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Calibrated dose control |
10638792, | Feb 11 2016 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Securely attaching cartridges for vaporizer devices |
10667560, | Feb 11 2016 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporizer apparatus |
10701975, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporization device systems and methods |
10865001, | Feb 11 2016 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Fillable vaporizer cartridge and method of filling |
10912331, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporization device systems and methods |
11539232, | Mar 30 2018 | BEIJING BOE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CO , LTD | Display device |
11752283, | Dec 23 2013 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporization device systems and methods |
8525358, | Oct 15 2010 | Hong Fu Jin Precision Industry (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.; Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. | Power module and electronic device using the same |
D718235, | Oct 16 2013 | PANASONIC AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS CO , LTD | Mobile phone charger |
D721034, | Nov 25 2013 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO , LTD | Battery charger for X-ray device |
D825102, | Jul 28 2016 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporizer device with cartridge |
D836541, | Jun 23 2016 | PAX LABS, INC | Charging device |
D842536, | Jul 28 2016 | JLI NATIONAL SETTLEMENT TRUST | Vaporizer cartridge |
D849996, | Jun 16 2016 | PAX LABS, INC | Vaporizer cartridge |
D851830, | Jun 23 2016 | PAX LABS, INC | Combined vaporizer tamp and pick tool |
D887632, | Sep 14 2017 | PAX LABS, INC | Vaporizer cartridge |
D913583, | Jun 16 2016 | PAX LABS, INC | Vaporizer device |
D927061, | Sep 14 2017 | Pax Labs, Inc. | Vaporizer cartridge |
D929036, | Jun 16 2016 | PAX LABS, INC | Vaporizer cartridge and device assembly |
Patent | Priority | Assignee | Title |
5949215, | Jan 25 1996 | Seiko Instruments Inc | Small-sized battery charger |
6316906, | Dec 08 2000 | Kinetic battery system | |
6930403, | Aug 21 2002 | HIGH TIDE ASSOCIATES, INC | Mobile electrical power source |
8030903, | Sep 27 2007 | Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. | Power generator and electronic apparatus |
8115327, | Oct 26 2006 | NEC MOBILING, LTD | Adjusting voltage provided by battery within portable electronic device |
20040204180, | |||
20070035134, | |||
20080157536, | |||
20090058360, | |||
20090085530, | |||
20100124948, | |||
20110175367, | |||
DE19955492, |
Executed on | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance | Frame | Reel | Doc |
Date | Maintenance Fee Events |
Jul 01 2016 | M2551: Payment of Maintenance Fee, 4th Yr, Small Entity. |
Jun 02 2020 | M2552: Payment of Maintenance Fee, 8th Yr, Small Entity. |
Aug 19 2024 | REM: Maintenance Fee Reminder Mailed. |
Oct 09 2024 | M2553: Payment of Maintenance Fee, 12th Yr, Small Entity. |
Oct 09 2024 | M2556: 11.5 yr surcharge- late pmt w/in 6 mo, Small Entity. |
Date | Maintenance Schedule |
Jan 01 2016 | 4 years fee payment window open |
Jul 01 2016 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
Jan 01 2017 | patent expiry (for year 4) |
Jan 01 2019 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 4) |
Jan 01 2020 | 8 years fee payment window open |
Jul 01 2020 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
Jan 01 2021 | patent expiry (for year 8) |
Jan 01 2023 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 8) |
Jan 01 2024 | 12 years fee payment window open |
Jul 01 2024 | 6 months grace period start (w surcharge) |
Jan 01 2025 | patent expiry (for year 12) |
Jan 01 2027 | 2 years to revive unintentionally abandoned end. (for year 12) |